Institute of Politics

The United States is home to 5% of the world’s population, and it houses nearly 25% of the world’s prisoners. 2.2 million Americans are currently living behind bars—this is a 500% increase over the past 30 years. And now 1:3 Americans now have a criminal record. The high incarceration rate is disproportionately affecting racial and ethnic minorities, and is costing Americans $80 billion a year. Because of these record high statistics, Republicans and Democrats are now banding together reform the country’s criminal justice system, and a number of bipartisan measures have recently been introduced in the House and the Senate. Join the IOP as it welcomes Alison Holcomb, Director of Campaign for Smart Justice at the ACLU, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, a current IOP Fellow, Mark Holden, Senior Vice President of Koch Industries, and Shaka Senghor, Director of Strategy and Innovation at #cut50, as well as former inmate, as they discuss what reform really means, and what measures would have the most impact, on society at large, and the majority of prisoners who are non-violent offenders. This conversation will be moderated by Carrie Johnson, NPR's Justice Correspondent.